We students at the Amigos School, have visited many ecosystems in the past few months. They include Black's
Nook Pond, the Arnold Arboretum, the Charles River and three ecosystems at Deer Island. All of these ecosystems
are amazing, by their beauty and structure.
ARNOLD ARBORETUM
In my opinion, the Arnold Arboretum is one of the prettiest places in all of Massachusetts. There are thousands of
trees and diferent "mini-ecosystems". There are birds, insects, spiders, plants, and more. The Arnold Arboretum is
a great place for kids.
ROCKY SHORE ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC
The Rocky Shore faces the Boston Harbor on Deer Island. There are rocks and shells all over the ground. Deer
Island is a peninsula in Winthrop, Massachusetts. There is salt water, about 63° in autumn. Most of the rocks
are stuck in the ground, but near the shore you can lift them. The air is 61° because the peninsula cuts off
the wind. The water pH is about 6-7, slightly acidic.
BIOTIC
Consumers
Under the rocks, there are crabs. They are Asian Green (fighter) crabs. None are that big. Other consumers are
clams, mussels, periwinkles, barnacles, jellies, zooplankton and birds, sea gulls, herring gulls and semi-plated sand
pipers.
Producers
The producers are kelp, seaweed, rockweed, knotted wrack, algae, protists and phytoplankton.
Decomposers
The decomposers are beach flies, bryophyte and bacteria.
ENERGY PYRAMID
The energy is passed from the sun to the producers: the kelp, rockweed, seaweed, knotted wrack, algae, protists and
phytoplankton. From there it goes to the herbivores, the periwinkles, blue mussels, clams, zooplankton and seagulls.
The energy then goes to the carnivores and omnivores, the barnacles, crabs, jellies (formerly known as jellyfish),
seagulls, zooplankton, herring gulls and sand pipers. From there, everything except the sun goes to the decomposers,
the beach flies, briophyte and bacteria.
Children and teacherscasting plankton nets and drawing their observations at the tide pool.
MORE
If you want to learn more about Boston ecosystems, see the rest of the articles under 'bostonecosystems'.
INTRODUCTION
We students at the Amigos School, have visited many ecosystems in the past few months. They include Black's
Nook Pond, the Arnold Arboretum, the Charles River and three ecosystems at Deer Island. All of these ecosystems
are amazing, by their beauty and structure.
ARNOLD ARBORETUM
In my opinion, the Arnold Arboretum is one of the prettiest places in all of Massachusetts. There are thousands of
trees and diferent "mini-ecosystems". There are birds, insects, spiders, plants, and more. The Arnold Arboretum is
a great place for kids.
ROCKY SHORE ECOSYSTEM
ABIOTIC
The Rocky Shore faces the Boston Harbor on Deer Island. There are rocks and shells all over the ground. Deer
Island is a peninsula in Winthrop, Massachusetts. There is salt water, about 63° in autumn. Most of the rocks
are stuck in the ground, but near the shore you can lift them. The air is 61° because the peninsula cuts off
the wind. The water pH is about 6-7, slightly acidic.
BIOTIC
Consumers
Under the rocks, there are crabs. They are Asian Green (fighter) crabs. None are that big. Other consumers areclams, mussels, periwinkles, barnacles, jellies, zooplankton and birds, sea gulls, herring gulls and semi-plated sand
pipers.
Producers
The producers are kelp, seaweed, rockweed, knotted wrack, algae, protists and phytoplankton.Decomposers
The decomposers are beach flies, bryophyte and bacteria.ENERGY PYRAMID
The energy is passed from the sun to the producers: the kelp, rockweed, seaweed, knotted wrack, algae, protists and
phytoplankton. From there it goes to the herbivores, the periwinkles, blue mussels, clams, zooplankton and seagulls.
The energy then goes to the carnivores and omnivores, the barnacles, crabs, jellies (formerly known as jellyfish),
seagulls, zooplankton, herring gulls and sand pipers. From there, everything except the sun goes to the decomposers,
the beach flies, briophyte and bacteria.
Children and teachers casting plankton nets and drawingtheir observations at the tide pool.
MORE
If you want to learn more about Boston ecosystems, see the rest of the articles under 'bostonecosystems'.